Wolfram is a very noisy nosy narrator and makes sure his opinions on all important matters are well acknowledged by his audience. He waxes eloquent on the state of chivalry, his characters and religion, but women appear to be among his most favorite topics of all. And while I have been acutely aware of it through rather snide comments and portrayals of women, it wasn't until this little gem that I truly felt we had the heart of it: "If I had some petty score to settle with them I would be loathe to waive my due, but would take a kiss if they wished to make up again. When all is said, women will always be women. They will subdue a mettlesome man in a trice, they have brought it off repeatedly" (230). Apparently the foundation of womanhood is to subdue a man and capture him and make him forever theirs. Have we seen this scenario played out in Parzival? Indeed over and over again since every noble woman who draws the attention of a noble knight only bestows her love after he has worked for it, in essence a subjugation. And yet this also suggests that a woman can only be a woman and is only allowed this passive role of the household.
There are two many instances of this in Parzival, so let's look at some of the more interesting defiances of this ideal. Gahmuret defies his subjugation to his wives by running away from them and their unadventurous wedded lives. He gives Belacane "the slip"and runs off from Herzeloyde for again more adventure. He needs to run since these women, including Ampflise, are attempting to capture him for the household.
Parzival is victim to this from birth. His mother refuses to allow him knowledge of knighthood and adventure in an attempt o subdue him and draw him closer to the household. In addition, she dies upon his absence, which seems to indicate women living solely for men. Parzival's wife holds a different sway as after having first gained him and subdued him, she retains a grasp upon his mind in the form of his longing for her, torturing him for leaving her.
Gawan and Obilot's relationship is another example of the woman subduing the man. Gawan rides for her sake despite desiring to stay out of the battle raging outside their gates. Even more interesting is Gawan's relationship with Orgeluse. The power struggle here seems to indicate that Orgeluse is the one who is subdued, but in fact her charm forces Gawan to woo her and become worthy of her love before she will bestow it. She is the one in control of her love and it is her decision of when to give it. And yet she is not actively enticing him to her. Her beauty is enough to draw him to her and keep him in pursuit. During the entire process she remains true to that idea that womanhood is passive.
This is the case for all the ladies as well. They possess either beauty or knowledge and with neither do they take active roles. Let's look to Cundrie the ugliest woman presented. She is in fact simply a messenger of the gral and never truly acts upon her knowledge. Her role is passive, giving men information and in that way inciting them to action. By inciting them she is in a sense subduing them for they fall to her will. She wields wisdom as her net, while others rely on their beauty, but both are resigned in this story to passive roles.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I think you're onto something here in so much as women hold a really slippery position in the narrative. While the men are, at least via lip service, their slaves they don't ever get to...do anything. They seem to either be the bringers of knowledge, in the case of Cundrie, in which case they are serving the men, or they just sit in the castle and be pretty and graceful and pure, in the case of...mostly everyone else.
The term you used, however, "attempting to capture him" really opens up the discussion because that is what they are doing, but "capturing" is a very masculine, aggressive, and powerful role. Does the aggressive role really have to be as active as we tend to think? Is being charming and pretty enough to be a type of huntress? And if so, are we looking at questions of gender in a totally new light?
I agree with Jolie. Being a beautiful lady does "capture" men, but that imprisonment relies on the ladies' continual charms, which in the case of the grown women is in their appearance. When Gawan slips away from his would-be capture, he more or less forgets about her. (I'm not even going to mention Parzival and his whole obsessive blood-watching) Maybe both sexes hold the same power, the power to be looked at and have the opposite sex swoon, but it is maintained by proximity and convenience. Or perhaps, women hold power as long as men can look at them. Because Gawan moves freely through the kingdom, I think we assume that he's not affected by the feminine domestic snare, but perhaps he would be if he stayed within gazing distance.
Post a Comment